What Does Ryan Like?
by BonnieD
Summary: For the OC sentence challenge. Ryan is heartbroken over a girl. Seth sets out to cheer him up.


Sdlucly's sentence challenge was: "One of the boys is heartbroken (could be because they broke up with a girlfriend). Either the parents or the other boy finds out and tries to help."

Well, Ryan's heart was pretty much smashed when Lindsay left. I would have liked to see the writers take that opportunity to bring Seth into some real dialogue with Ryan instead of distracting him with a visit to the mall. This story takes place over a couple of weeks and only some elements of canon after and including the Mallpisode are used.

I also took liberties with the canon version of Ryan since they actually haveshown him expressing preferences on numerous occasions. I like the original image the show presented of the chameleon trying to be whatever the Cohens want and what Seth expects in a friend. The following is what happens when Seth decides to find out…

What Does Ryan Like?

When Seth saw Ryan across the bus station, sitting in the vinyl-covered chair staring at the ticket in his hand, he thought his friend looked like a stranger. He took in the familiar sandy-blond hair, a slice of profile, the gray, hooded sweatshirt, and thought, 'Who is that kid?' For a brief moment Ryan looked like a twelve-year-old runaway -- smaller, diminished from the muscular, confident, take-charge guy that Seth knew.

Before he approached him, Seth tried to marshal the force of words that were always at his command. Obviously they'd failed him in the pool house. This Lindsay situation called for more delicacy than his usual brand of ironic teasing. He didn't want to get snapped at again and drive Ryan even further into his brood.

Ryan needed distraction, Seth decided. He needed to be taken out and entertained to help him get his mind off being dumped. After all, Ryan hadn't let Seth wallow in depression over Summer for more than a couple of days. It was his duty as buddy to push past Ryan's emotional reserve and drag him kicking and screaming into the light. Maybe they could go to go to the mall and help Summer with the clothing drive. Seth loved plans where everybody benefited. Seth would get to be with Summer. Summer would have helpers for her project. And Ryan would cheer up from being around friends and doing something for others. It was symbiotic.

"Hey." He slid into the seat next to Ryan, who showed no trace of surprise at seeing him.

"Hey." Ryan went back to studying his ticket.

"So, you're going to … Chicago?"

Ryan shrugged. "We have a long weekend. I thought I'd go see her. Surprise her, you know."

Seth nodded. Ryan sounded uncertain, like he already knew the idea was flawed but didn't know how to back down from it. You'd think a kid who was an honor student in physics would realize that it was impossible to travel from California to Illinois and back by bus in the space of a three-day weekend.

"You _could_ do that," Seth said. "Or maybe you could give Lindsay a little space. Keep in touch by e-mail or phone but give her some time to process everything that happened over these past months."

Ryan tapped the ticket against his leg and stared hard at it. He finally said, "I guess."

Seth breathed a silent sigh of relief. The secret, evil truth was that Seth had been glad to see Lindsay go. He didn't like the chaos her presence brought to his family and didn't like how Ryan was so caught up with her that he didn't have time to pay attention to Seth.

Now, to implement the tactic of distraction. He opened his mouth to present the mall idea, when Ryan surprised him by continuing to speak. "I really miss her," he said quietly. "I didn't know I would this much."

Ryan sounded bereft -- abandoned, and Seth suddenly remembered what he'd said earlier about people leaving him. The pain in his voice was more than the fallout of a high school breakup. Ryan had issues from way back all snarled up and brought to the surface by Lindsay's defection, and Seth was about to suggest a trip to the mall to heal him? Stupid!

"I'm sorry." Seth forced himself to stop speaking. He didn't offer pancakes or Imax movies, a trip to the comic book shop or playing a video game. He didn't suggest going to the mall or Mexico or the skateboard park. Instead, after a brief pause he asked, "What would _you_ like to do, Ryan? We can do anything you want."

Ryan leaned back in his chair, turned the ticket facedown on his thigh and covered it with his hand. His eyes drifted half-closed and he breathed long and deep. "How about sailing? I need to feel like I'm going somewhere, even if it's only for a little while."

"Sure. I get that." Seth nodded. The desire to escape, to fly away from all his troubles was definitely well-covered territory for him. "Done, my man. Anchors aweigh."

As Ryan shouldered his duffle and followed Seth from the station, Seth thought about how little he really knew about what Ryan liked. Ever since he'd moved in with them, his choices had often been reflections of what Seth wanted. Whenever it came to picking what movie they'd see or what music they listened to on the way there or what food they ate afterward, Ryan had always been so undemanding that Seth had chosen everything.

When Seth thought about it, Ryan was still a mystery to him. What would he choose to do if no one else placed demands on him? No Chino relatives or friends. No Newport expectations. What did Ryan like? Seth decided to find out. He would make it his personal obsession, and Lord knows he was a master of obsession, to find out what Ryan Atwood really liked.

"Mom?"

"Hm."

"What do you know about Ryan?"

"Huh?" Kirsten didn't look up from her laptop.

"Ryan. Kid who lives with us. You remember him? I mean, I know you've been busy with your new _thing_, but come on, Mother, work with me here."

"What?" Her heart pounded and she thought, 'How could he know about Carter?'

"Yeah, this magazine thing. I know it's a lot more work on top of your regular stuff. I get that you're really busy right now, but I think Ryan's in a real depression and I'm trying to figure out what to do for him."

Kirsten blinked and stared at her son. In that split second it was like she'd never seen him before. She felt she was surfacing and breathing fresh air after months of swimming in murky water. Seth had changed. He was even taller than he'd been at the end of summer, a little bulkier and there was a frown line etched between his eyes that she'd never noticed before. There was even the very faintest shadow of stubble on his jaw as though he'd missed a few days' shaving. He wasn't her little boy anymore. He was a young man.

"I didn't know he was so unhappy." She felt tears prickling the corners of her eyes. Countless days had slipped by during which she'd given little thought to either of the boys and what they were up to. She had been angry with Sandy and with her father, upset about her new sister, consumed with work and with Carter. There hadn't been time for Seth and Ryan.

"Mom," Seth rolled his eyes and instantly looked like the seven-year-old she once knew, "are you blind? It's been two weeks since Lindsay left and he's not snapping out of it. He hardly talks. He's back to acting like he did when he first got here."

"I didn't realize." Kirsten spoke past a lump in her throat.

"So, I've been trying to figure out what I really know about Ryan. Things he likes and doesn't like -- that kind of stuff. I mean, have you ever once heard him say, 'I'm sick of Thai. Let's have spaghetti for a change'? He always just goes along."

Kirsten tried to remember any time she'd heard Ryan express a preference and all she came up with was an image of him standing by the stove frying bacon. He had turned to her with a resigned expression in his eyes and she'd felt like a bitch for what she was about to do.

"Bacon," she said. "I don't know if it's his favorite food but it means … something. Even when he knew I was sending him home that first morning, he took the time to make it for us." She didn't say anything else. She knew if she spoke again she'd cry.

"Bacon, huh? Well, it's a start."

After Seth left the kitchen, Kirsten closed her laptop. She picked up her cell phone and dialed Carter's personal number to tell him she wouldn't be meeting him at the office later that afternoon as planned. The magazine could wait. It was the weekend and she needed to spend it with her family.

"What do I know about Ryan?" Marissa laughed nervously and glanced toward Alex lounging in the doorway of the kitchen. Alex made Seth nervous too. It was still weird for him to see the girls together and he wished he'd approached Marissa at school instead of coming over to the apartment.

"Yeah. You and Ryan were attached at the hip for a while there. You must have picked up some idea of what he likes and doesn't like. For example, what's his favorite color?"

"Well, he wears a lot of blue." She frowned. "But I never really asked him. I guess I don't know." Her forehead smoothed and she smiled. "I think he likes ships. He really enjoyed that Russell Crowe boat movie we went to."

"Okay, that's good. What else?" Seth took his time writing down 'ships' so he didn't have to look up at Alex. Her arms were folded across her breasts, her hip out-thrust and her cat-eyes narrowed in annoyance. In contrast Marissa's eyes grew even wider and more guileless, in her patented 'Who me?' expression.

"I don't know what to tell you, Seth. We may have spent a lot of time together but I guess I never really got to know Ryan. Not really. Not like I know Alex, you know? It was so hard to get him talking and whatever I wanted to do on dates seemed fine by him."

"So, favorite foods, books, movies, teams, bands … you never talked about any of them?"

Marissa shrugged and blushed, looking more uncomfortable than ever. Seth could imagine what the two of them had done instead of talking.

"And he never told you anything about Chino?

"Well, I went with him at Thanksgiving that time but Ryan never seemed to want to talk about his brother or family so I didn't press it. And I hung out in Chino with Theresa for a few days but mostly I talked about my insane mom and L-luke."

"Luke?" Alex raised a perfectly sculpted eyebrow. Seth got the impression Marissa had never told her about her long-term relationship with Luke. He wondered how she had sanitized a five-year segment of her life to make it Luke-free.

"Luke? Oh, he was no one," Marissa assured her. "An ex-boyfriend of mine that my mom decided to bang. I told you she was crazy."

Seth got out of there as quickly as he could before Alex unleashed her claws. He was kicking off on his skateboard when Marissa came out of the apartment and called down to him, "Seth, wait up." She ran down the steps, throwing a brief glance over her shoulder as if she'd just made a prison break then turned to face him.

"I knew Ryan was upset about Lindsay leaving. I ran into him the night she told him she was going and he was really … upset. He's always been so protective of me and so sweet. I want to try to be a better friend than I have been. Do you think I should come over and talk to him… just as a friend."

Seth looked into Marissa's innocent, sympathetic eyes and read the subtext. Ryan was free – she wanted him back. He said, "No. I don't think that's what Ryan needs right now. I think the best way you can be his _friend_ is to give him some space."

He was proud of himself that he only emphasized the word 'friend' the tiniest bit. Marissa didn't even catch his sarcasm.

"Cohen, what do _I _know about Ryan? I can count on one hand the number of times we've talked." Summer rolled her eyes and tossed her hair back. "But, yeah, I can tell you what he likes. He likes to take care of people. It's his, what do they call it? _Raison d'etre_. I knew French class had to be good for something. Now, if you ask me what he _needs_, that's a different thing entirely and I can tell you that, too.

Seth leaned in as if waiting for an oracle to speak. "Share your wisdom, Summer."

"He needs a new girlfriend, one with no hang-ups or issues or family problems whatsoever."

Seth relaxed. "Well, we all want that! I was thinking more along the lines of something I could buy at the mall for him."

"Hah!" Summer barked a sharp little laugh. "We don't need the mall. I have the perfect person in mind. She's my cousin. She doesn't go to Harbor and doesn't know any of the soap opera drama that's swirled around Ryan over the past couple of years. You plan your big Ryan Atwood Day shindig and I'll bring her with me."

"Alrighty then." Seth was impressed. Ryan didn't even have to meet girls in person for dates to fall in line for him. Must be nice to have that kind of sex appeal.

"Okay. I've got a list started but so far it's not coming together the way I'd hoped. It somehow lacks … focus."

"Let's hear it, son." Sandy suppressed his smile and listened gravely to Seth's list. He'd often had the uncomfortable feeling that Seth viewed Ryan as some kind of pet his father had brought home for him to play with. He was glad to hear him really thinking about Ryan's needs for a change.

"These are the things that we know Ryan likes: physics, that's a given. Bacon, blue, girls, weight-lifting, ships, saving people, sobriety, Journey and punching people. And when I called Luke, he reminded me to add soccer, poker and pool."

"That's quite an eclectic mix." Sandy allowed a smile. "But, Seth, do you honestly think Ryan _likes_ punching people?"

"Well … maybe not 'likes' so much as 'needs to' as part of the saving people thing. On the other hand, maybe we should get him a punching bag to relieve his stress. That might be a good present."

Sandy chose his words carefully not wanting to puncture Seth's thoughtfulness balloon. "So, you've found out some things about Ryan. That's good. But wouldn't it have been easier to talk with him? Learn from the source so to speak?"

Seth gave him a look. "This is Ryan we're talking about here. You have to approach things obliquely. If you ask him point blank, 'what's your favorite color?' or 'what's bothering you?' what do you think he'll answer? -- 'I don't know' and 'Nothing.' Besides, I wanted to show him that we, and by 'we' I mean 'I', do pay attention when he talks. I want him to know that we've all learned a little something about who he is and that we care about what he likes."

"Very commendable."

"What about you, Dad? What do you know about Ryan?"

"Well," Sandy considered, "one time I was watching the Discovery channel when Ryan came in. They were rebuilding a vintage GTO on a show and he sat there for a while then told me about how he and his brother and a friend fixed up a '66 Camaro once. He went into staggering detail about the engine and came as close to sounding excited as I've ever heard him. So, I'd say it's a safe bet he likes muscle cars."

"That's good but … that's not what I meant."

Sandy waited. He hadn't heard Seth sound so serious since their discussion last fall about Seth staying in Portland. For Seth to abandon his flip pose meant that there was something he really wanted to talk about.

"I know that as Ryan's lawyer you can't really tell things you know about him, like, from his file or whatever. But as his guardian and my dad, you can. I'm not asking for specifics. I think I kind of get the general shape -- jailbird dad, drunk mom and rough boyfriends. But, how bad do you think it got? Like, broken-bone bad? I mean, when I met Ryan he had a black eye. I assumed it was from the accident he got in stealing the car, but it wasn't was it? And at Christmas when he said his memories consisted of him getting his ass kicked, he really meant it, didn't he? I guess, until recently, I never thought about what it was like for him to actually live with drugs and alcohol and getting beaten up."

Sandy met Seth's dark, questioning eyes. "You're right. It's not my place to discuss those things. It's something you should ask him about if you want to know. But I can say, that I think it got really bad at times … better at others. For kids from abusive homes, the lack of consistency is one of the hardest parts. Never knowing if it's a 'safe' day or a bad one makes them very wary about trusting anyone."

"Jesus, Dad." Seth frowned and his eyes glistened. "It's like I've been totally self-involved and blind the whole time Ryan's been here. I feel like an ass. Do you know what I did the morning his mom left? Sat there and gave him a play by play of everything Summer said to me the night before. What kind of an ass does that?"

"Don't beat yourself up, son." Sandy reached out and covered Seth's hand on the table. "We're all blind to what the people in our lives need from us at one time or another. The important thing is that you realize your mistake now and you're trying to change."

Sandy hoped he had the strength to take his own advice. It was hard not to kick himself for the stupid way he'd behaved over Rebecca. In the wake of the summer from hell, he should have been totally focused on healing his family. Instead, he'd been playing Russian roulette with a former flame. No matter how much he'd protested to Kirsten that Rebecca meant nothing to him, there had been banked coals just waiting to flare up.

He resolved to re-commit himself to family first and everything else second. He called his latest client and told him he'd have to meet him at a later date, that he had a family situation he needed to take care of today. Then he went to find Kirsten to ask her to take a walk on the beach.

Seth had been acting squirrelly all morning. He was as pent-up as a kid on Christmas Eve. When he insisted Ryan go sailing with him, Ryan agreed just to get him out of the house and burn off some of that excess energy. Besides, he really liked sailing. Liked it more every time Seth took him out. He was really getting the hang of how to operate the tiller. Seth let him steer out of the harbor then they both kicked back and relaxed, letting the catamaran choose its own course in the open water.

Seth popped the top on his Mountain Dew and took a long swig. "Want one?" He poked through the cooler. "There's Mountain Dew, Sprite, Coke, even Orange Slice. Whatever you desire."

"You have any root beer?"

"Um, no. Sorry." Seth looked upset. He muttered 'root beer' under his breath.

"Hey, no big deal. I'll take a Sprite."

Seth dug through the ice and handed him a dripping, cold can. "Sorry, about the root beer."

"It's cool. I don't care that much." He opened his soda and took a swallow. "What's up with you today anyway? Something going on between you and Summer again?"

"Nuh-uh. You're not going to sidetrack me," Seth said, wagging a finger. "We're not here to talk about me and Summer or about me or even about Zach and me and Summer."

Ryan laughed a little uneasily. "Okay, what are we here to talk about then?"

"You, man. Today's all about you."

"Huh? What brought this on?"

"I know you've been torn up about Lindsay and I thought we should talk about it. I mean _really_ talk about it not end up shooting the shit about Marvel versus DC like we did last time we went sailing. I think we should talk about it before … I don't know, something bad happens. You're so depressed it's scaring me."

Ryan really laughed this time. "Seth, I'm upset not suicidal. I'll get over it. Just give me some time."

"We don't have to talk about Lindsay. We can talk about anything you want. Like stories about Chino or your family, anything like that. I'm here to listen."

Ryan felt his poker face slide into place. It was automatic. Words like 'Chino' and 'family' triggered that mask of neutrality. "I don't like to talk about that stuff. It's in the past. It's not part of my life now."

"But, dude, it _is_! You can't block off your past and expect it to go away. It's like the crap I put up with from school jocks all those years. In some weird way it formed me and I can't pretend it didn't happen." Seth frowned and took a deep breath. "But we're not talking about me. I want to get to know _you_ better … and not in the kind of gay way that came out. The thing is, Ryan, you've lived with us for almost two years and while you know every single thing about me, I still don't know hardly anything about you."

"Sure you do."

"No, I don't. Like root beer. I never would have guessed root beer. I had no idea. You've never put it on the grocery list. You've never asked for it."

"Stop it, Seth. You're freaking out. I don't really like root beer that much. It just sounded good today for a change. That's all." He set his soda can down and took hold of the tiller, turning away from Seth.

"And that's only one little detail. There's so much bigger, more important stuff I've totally let slide and never discussed, like for example, how you felt when Theresa lost the baby."

"Talking about shit like that doesn't change it. It's done. Over. Time to move on."

"Yes, but it's good to talk about it before you lay it to rest."

"Not for me."

"How _did_ you feel?" Seth pressed and Ryan tightened his hand on the tiller to keep from turning around and slugging him. His jaw tightened and he considered yelling at Seth to shut the hell up.

Instead, he opened his mouth and the truth blurted out. "I felt relieved … and guilty about being relieved … and sad, because I'd kind of started picturing what the kid would be like someday." He snorted. "If it was even mine."

Seth stayed silent and the unexpected lack of chatter caused Ryan to fill the void. "But mostly relieved. Glad to be free, you know? … And at the same time, hurt because Theresa cut me loose. She didn't even want me to stick around to help her get through it and I know she was wrecked about it. She loved that baby." He turned just a little bit and looked at Seth from the corner of his eye.

"That makes sense. It was complicated. Of course, you'd feel a lot of different stuff all at once. See, Ryan, this is good. This is progress. It's what I'm talkin' about – getting to really know each other."

Ryan blew out a breath and toyed with the tiller some more. He felt simultaneously lighter than he had in a long time and also as if he'd been dragged through a bed of coals. He hated to reveal himself like that. "Good. Glad you're happy. Can we talk about something else now, like 'Atomic County' or anything besides me?"

"Yes, we can," Seth said. "But this is only the beginning Ryan. From now on it's 50/50 talking about me and about you … or maybe 60/40 … or 70/30. I'm not sure of the exact ratio, but we're definitely spending a lot more time on you than we used to. I swear it."

Ryan squinted against the sun dancing on the waves. He smiled as Seth regaled him with the tale of how Summer opposed the comic book idea and he and Zach had to sneak around to work on it. "Very stealth," he said, part of his mind on Seth's story and the rest thinking how different physics class was without Lindsay in it.

There was a sticky moment when Ryan said he'd like to stop for a burger before they went home and Seth had to tell him that the 'rents were expecting them for a late lunch.

"We never eat lunch together, only dinner. What's up?" Ryan tied off the catamaran at the dock.

"Well, we are today. Mom especially asked me to make sure we were back by 2:00."

"Can't we at least get a slice of pizza at the boardwalk. I'm starving and you know how long it takes to order and then wait for the food."

"Ah, but today I'm grilling," Seth said, jumping out of the boat. "It's a special lunch because… because Dad and Mom want us to spend more quality family time together."

"Oh."

After that, Ryan fell in line and was as easy to lead as a pig to slaughter, or in a more cheery analogy, as a babe to candy.

When they walked around the side of the house to the back yard and everyone yelled 'Surprise,' Seth was as thrilled as if the party was intended for him. He eagerly looked for Ryan's reaction. His friend appeared stunned, almost dismayed. His face went completely neutral in seconds flat and he stared, unsmiling, at the small group assembled near the pool and the blue-lettered banner above the pool house door that read, "Happy Birthday, Ryan!"

"What is this?" he said quietly. "It's not anywhere near my birthday."

Summer smacked Marissa in the arm. "I told you we should add 'belated.'"

"But it didn't fit," Marissa said. She walked over to Ryan, hugged him and gave him an air kiss. "We missed your birthday last summer and Seth thought it would be nice to have a party now."

She moved aside and Kirsten came forward to sweep Ryan into a hard hug. "Love you, sweetie," she said, pecking his cheek before pulling away again.

Zach raised his hand in a little wave and smiled. "Happy Birthday."

"And this," Summer guided a pretty, brown-haired girl forward and presented her to Ryan, "Is my cousin, Mary Sue."

"Hi." The girl smiled and extended her hand.

He took it and murmured "Hey," still clearly overwhelmed by all the attention focused on him.

"So what do you think?" Seth asked. "Happy Birthday! Hope you enjoy your day. I'll be making bacon cheeseburgers at the grill and meanwhile you can teach these rubes how to play poker. See, it's a poker theme party."

"Alex couldn't come." Marissa rested her hand on Ryan's arm, drawing his attention away from Mary Sue. "She had to work, but she sends her best wishes."

Seth snorted. Like anyone was going to miss Alex.

Summer frowned and grabbed Marissa's arm, pulling her away from Ryan so that her cousin would have a chance at him. "Come on, Coop. Let's make sure the cards and chips are ready."

Ryan finally cleared his throat and spoke. "Um, thanks … for this." He gestured around at the blue and white balloons and the banner. "It's really nice."

Sandy wrapped an arm around his shoulders and hugged. "In case we haven't said it in a while, glad to have you here."

Ryan ducked his head, looking pleased and embarrassed. His eyes caught Seth's and he smiled at him. "Thanks, man."

"No problem."

Before he started cooking, Seth started the music. He shuddered as he put in the cd and cringed when Steve Perry's uniquely annoying voice strained from the speakers. "Any way you want it, that's the way you need it, any way you want it…"

Seth realized as he fired up the grill that he hadn't cooked since Portland. It was actually a pleasure to do it, getting the temperature just right and searing the pink meat patties. Plus, he really liked his new apron, which proclaimed him 'Master Chef.' He had pre-cooked the bacon nice and crispy in the kitchen. As he laid the strips over the melted cheese on the charred burgers, he thought about his mom's story about Ryan and the bacon. That was quintessential Ryan, doing things for people automatically, taking care of them even when there was nothing in it for him. Seth wanted to be more like that. He vowed he would be.

He glanced over at the table where everyone was gathered listening to Ryan explain when to draw, raise or check. "Burgers are up," Seth called. "Cholesterol for all."

After the meal, including a birthday cake and singing which set Ryan blushing again, Kirsten announced that it was time for presents.

"No. You guys didn't need to do that," Ryan protested.

"Take the loot and run, buddy," Seth advised. "You have no idea how awesome it's gonna be."

Marissa handed Ryan a dandelion yellow envelope. "Summer and I went in on this together. I hope you like it."

"Of course he'll like it. He's a boy," Summer said. "I picked the card by the way."

A grin spread over Ryan's face as he pulled out the card. Seth leaned over and got an eyeful of a bikini-clad beauty in a party hat blowing a birthday kiss. Ryan opened the card and a pair of tickets fell out.

"WWE. Cool. Thank you."

"Stone Cold versus Undertaker in L.A.!" Mary Sue exclaimed. "Summer, how'd you score tickets for that? I'd kill to go!"

"I've got two. If you want to, we could…" Ryan said.

"Really? That'd be fantastic. You have no idea how much I love wrestling. I've been into it since I was little."

Marissa's wide eyes narrowed and glittered. She looked surprisingly like her mother. Seth put a hand over his mouth to hide his smile.

Zach pushed a fairly large box across the table toward Ryan. "I hope you like this. Seth suggested it, but I wasn't sure."

Ryan unwrapped a ship model kit. A Spanish galleon in full sale was pictured on the box. "Nice," he said. "Thanks. I like building things. It looks like fun."

"I have a little something for you. It's in the pool house, but if it takes up too much of your space we can find another place for it." Kirsten rubbed her hands together nervously.

"Mom, stop talking before you give it away." Seth led the way to the pool house and the rest of the party followed after.

"Whoa!" Ryan stopped just inside the door and stared at the weight bench with the bright red bow tied around it. It was off to the right and crowded the room a little but Ryan didn't appear to mind. "That's…" He walked over to the bench and ran a hand along the silver bar in its holder. "Whoa!"

"Well put," Seth said. "Good job, Mom. I'm sure Ryan and I will both get some use out of this." He stooped to pick up one of the smallest weights and hefted it in his hand. "See Summer, I'm bulking up already." He flexed his biceps.

"Mm-hm." Summer rolled her eyes.

"Thank you, but really, this is way too much." Ryan looked up with a furrow of concern in his brow.

"Son, you don't know the half of it," Sandy said. "Follow me." He led the whole party around the side of the house to the garage and opened the overhead door. "Behold, our family project, boys."

In the dim interior of the garage sat a rust-orange and gun-metal gray Mustang.

"No way. This is so cool, Mr. Cohen." Zach sounded as awed as if he'd just seen Jesus and Moses.

Seth looked at the junker and tried to see what Zach was so excited about. His dad had told him he was getting a vintage car for them to rebuild together but Seth had pictured something a little shinier than this. He looked over at Ryan to see if he was just as disappointed but Ryan, too, looked like he'd seen the Holy Grail. He walked slowly over to the car and put his hand on the roof, leaning down to look in the window at the interior. Zach bounded to the driver's side and did the same.

The two boys enthused about the upholstery and the controls on the dash and Zach reached in to pop the hood. Ryan turned to face the Cohens. "Really, this is just … unbelievable."

"Well, I thought it'd be a fun project for us and when we're done you boys'll finally have a vehicle to tool around in."

"Seth, man, take a look at this." Ryan said, gesturing to the front of the car.

Seth stood with Ryan, Zach and his dad, gazing at the engine. Zach and Ryan spoke mechanic while Seth's eyes glazed over. This was almost as bad as the rare times Ryan had tried to explain a physics problem he was working on.

Seth caught his mom watching, her arms folded and a contented smile on her face. He rolled his eyes at her and mouthed, "Help me!" She smiled wider. Summer, Marissa and Mary Sue had already drifted away from the garage, back toward the pool area.

Finally Seth clapped his hands together. "Wow, this is all really exciting. Can't wait to get covered with elbow-grease, but right now we should probably get back to poker seeing as it's the theme of the party."

"Seth's right. You guys will be spending all your time out here, I can tell. But today there are other guests to consider." Mom backed him up and between the pair of them they got the other three moving.

They played poker for several hours. The atmosphere grew more intense as the pot increased and the players dropped out. Finally it was down to Summer and Ryan. Ryan's face was like a totem, giving nothing away. Summer's glossy lips pursed and the pink nail of her index finger tapped, but she had been doing that every hand, good or bad, throughout the game. Neither player had any discernible tells.

"Jacks over twos," Ryan said, snapping them down on the table.

Summer's full lips stretched in a smile and her dark eyes glistened with avarice. Seth's heart leaped. He wished he could drag her off to his bedroom and have his way with her – or better yet, right here on the poker table where Zach would have to watch.

"Sorry, Birthday Boy, three fives." She raked in her loot. At ten dollars a player it made a princely eighty bucks – enough to pay for a quarter of one Manolo Blahnik.

"That's my girl," Seth said and she smirked at him.

Before the guests left, Ryan thanked all of them again. "This has been … just great. Thanks everybody. I appreciate everything."

"It was our pleasure," Kirsten said, giving him another hug. "Sometimes we get so involved in our own personal problems that we forget what's important. We don't pay enough attention to the people we care about.

"Amen." Sandy put an arm around Kirsten as she stepped back from Ryan.

Seth looked back and forth between his mom and dad and his skin prickled. He suddenly realized he hadn't seen them canoodling like this in a long time and had the weird premonition that a crisis had just been averted. It was good to see them looking so relaxed and happy together.

Several hours later Seth trudged through the dark of night to visit Ryan in the pool house. The party had been a great success. Ryan had seemed to really enjoy all of the attention despite himself. Now Seth wanted to present his gift, which he had held back for privacy's sake.

He knocked on the pool house door and actually waited to hear "Come in" before entering.

"Hey. What's up?" Ryan was sitting on his bed, the Spanish galleon box open beside him. Inside the box were thousands of tiny pieces and in Ryan's hands was a schematic that looked complicated enough to build a nuclear reactor.

"So, Zach chose a pirate ship for you. Very minty of him. I would've thought battle ship or aircraft carrier but whatever." Seth bounced onto the foot of the bed and started pawing through ship parts. "This looks entertaining to you?"

"I like putting things together," Ryan said defensively. "Have I ever made a crack about you collecting comic books?"

"Point taken. Here." Seth thrust a large square toward Ryan. It was wrapped in South Park paper with Cartman proclaiming "Have a Happy Birthday, Asshole!"

"What's this?"

"What does it look like?"

"Seth, you planned the whole party. You didn't have to get me something, too."

"Wait 'til you've seen it before you get too excited."

Ryan opened the present to reveal a faux red leather photo album. He opened it to the first page on which the smiling Cohens plus one were posed in front of a fireplace, a row of stockings hanging above their heads.

"Thanks. This is great." He continued to flip through shots of himself and Marissa, Seth and Summer, Anna, Luke, and even Oliver. Caleb, Julie and Jimmy were all represented in at least one snapshot. There was a section devoted to Kirsten and Sandy's anniversary party. Ryan stopped at a picture of him and Lindsay and studied it for several moments.

"Just 'cause she's gone doesn't mean you should forget her," Seth said. "Not to sound too much like a Hallmark card or, god forbid, my dad, but her leaving doesn't take away from the time you were together. I figured that out when Anna moved away."

Ryan nodded, turned the page and froze. "Where did you get these?" His voice was sharp and Seth was afraid he'd gone too far.

"Theresa's mom and your brother. Neither of them was that hard to reach. Mrs. Vallejo sent me all of these," Seth moved his hand over the double spread of photos including Theresa, Ryan, Arturo, Trey, Eddie, and various other Chino denizens whom Seth didn't know. "And Trey sent me this one." He indicated a tattered, faded Atwood family portrait circa 1980-something. Gap-toothed Trey mugged for the camera. Baby Ryan was examining his own fingers. Dawn's face had the scrubbed-clean look of a young woman whose whole future lay in front of her, full of promise. Daddy Atwood smiled into the camera and held the baby steady with a hand on his tummy.

Ryan continued to stare and stare at the two pages, his gaze drifting slowly from one picture to the next, his face a blank slate. Seth grew increasingly nervous. He didn't mean to piss Ryan off.

"Look, I'm sorry if you don't want to see those. I probably shouldn't have put them in there, but I wanted your whole life to be represented. It seemed like a good idea at the time."

"No. It's all right." Ryan looked up and gave him one of those quick smiles he bestowed when he was really pretty upset but didn't want Seth to feel bad. "It's good. Thank you." He closed the book and set it aside on the bed.

"So," Seth cleared his throat, "what did you think of Summer's cousin, Mary Lou? Weird name."

"I think it's Sue -- Mary Sue. She was okay. We set up a date for the wrestling match so … there's that."

"Didn't she seem a little, I don't know, too perfect or something?" Seth tried to put his finger on what bugged him about the girl.

Ryan nodded. "Yeah. I know what you mean." He paused then added, "Actually, there's this girl at school I'm kind of … well, sort of interested in. A transfer student."

Seth's eyes popped. "When did this happen? Who is she?"

"Nothing's happened yet. I'm just looking but…"

"But what?"

"She's pretty hot, and she seems … interesting."

"Tell me more. Come on, dude, spill! I want details -- height, weight, hair-color, bra-size."

"Her name's Kimmie…"

Seth leaned forward, resting his chin on his hand and listening while Ryan talked. He didn't once break in to say something about Summer. He didn't even think about it. And he found out it was actually pretty easy to learn what Ryan liked.

END

There! I've resolved a lot of crap that bugged me about season 2 to my satisfaction. Of course, it's too neat. If there weren't sham almost-cheatings, car accidents and accelerated drinking, we would have a happy Cohen family and no drama to explore next year, right?


End file.
